Your Customer Records Need a Home

There are various ways to distinguish your small business from your competitors, but a great place to start is by pulling out all those customer records and putting them to good use.

However, before taking those customer records out…we need to make sure we have them all stored in a place that will help you both keep your business organized and your records safely managed.

Once you’ve gathered all of your relevant customer data, you need to determine how to properly understand the data and apply it effectively toward growing your business. A good place to start is by investing in a CRM – Customer Relationship Management tool.

Customer Relationship Management

A CRM tool is where all your clients and their purchasing and service information – from appointments to preferred products – all live together on a single platform. When a client buys an item, service, or schedules a booking (online, in person, or over the phone), your CRM will capture that data and your business will then have access to your client’s:

Appointment History (frequency of new appointments vs. cancellations)

Spend on Services vs. Products

Product Preferences

Having access to multi-faceted and integrated records give you the insights needed to target your conversation during the appointment and marketing after the appointment by tracking your client’s behavior.

Advancing your business ahead relies on having the flexibility of accessing your business and customer’s records, regardless of location.

Go Above and Beyond Your Desktop and Up into the Cloud

When checking out different tools for your customer relationship management, check out ones that are cloud-based. Storing your data in the cloud means that you can access it anytime, anywhere, and from any device. This gives you the ability to see your bookings, inventory, and to send and schedule emails at your leisure.

Reap the Rewards

With every sale your business makes, whether it is a product or a service, tying your sales to your CRM lends itself to various benefits. For each purchase made, you’ll be able to figure out you customer’s buying behavior, and use that to your advantage. Maybe you’ll be able to predict inventory changes or find ways to upsell different retail or service items. You can tailor your business to each of your customers, giving you the ability to foster the strongest of relationships.

Does this sound familiar?

You’ve looked through your appointment book and you’ve noticed that your mid-day appointments for every Wednesday and Thursday are pretty slow. You can use your customer data to figure out the best ways to entice your existing customers to walk through the door during those slow days. Using your data to target your marketing, whether it be offering up special discounts or packages, is a surefire way to help you get some results and fill up that appointment book.

About the Author

Aditi Vora is a skilled digital marketer with a passion for content marketing and exploring new and fun ways to keep her audience informed and engaged. She's currently the Senior Manager of Content at Booker Software.